


asters & chrysanthemums

by yeonjunsangel



Series: danganronpa one shots [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, F/M, First Kiss, Hanahaki Disease, Mentions of Death, Mild Language, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Not Beta Read, Tenko is a suppportive friend, Unrequited Love, alternate universe - theres no killing game they just attend high school, author doesn't know how to write angst, hiding an illness, language is mainly from miu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:01:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27124207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeonjunsangel/pseuds/yeonjunsangel
Summary: Himiko would do anything for Shuichi Saihara. Even if that meant dying, choking on blood-covered petals.
Relationships: Saihara Shuichi/Yumeno Himiko
Series: danganronpa one shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050698
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	asters & chrysanthemums

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drafts for a while and though im not that into DR anymore i thought i'd share it considering theres so little saimeno content !  
> no beta
> 
> warning: this contains mentions of death & acceptance of death and implied suicidal intent (nothing graphic on the suicide part however)
> 
> 9.12.20: changed the title from 'love is magical' to 'asters & chrysanthemums'

Himiko Yumeno has never been a particularly romantic person.

Her focus had always been set on developing her magical abilities, so she never had much time for anything else. She never tried particularly hard to pursue friendships before attending Hopes Peak, let alone a romantic relationship.

Even after starting at Hopes Peak, she has few people she could _really_ call her ‘friends. She appeared lazy and uninterested, and she couldn't really blame others for not wanting to befriend her.

Himiko wasn't all that sure she believed in love either. It had always seemed such a distant concept, reserved for movies or manga or books. True love seemed like such an unobtainable feat, like something fictional.

And yet here she was, flower petals in hand as she sat on the bathroom floor, dumbfounded.

She coughed violently until every last petal had left her lips, and made its way into her, now bloody, hands.

She had heard of the Hanahaki Disease, of course she had. It was a disease born of unrequited love, and it was usually fatal. A person either had to confess and have their feelings returned, have surgery and lose all memories of that person & potentially become unable to love romantically ever again or die from the plant taking a hold of the victim's lungs.

But as she stared at the abundance of white chrysanthemums and blue asters in her hands, she knew exactly who they were for. Her heart had ached for Shuichi as soon as she laid her eyes on him.

There was no way he could return her feelings. Himiko knew she was infatuated with the boy, but she never knew her feelings truly ran this deeply. Shuichi was too good for her in every possible way.

He was reserved, yet weirdly popular in their class. His ultimate talent was far more useful than hers, and he was recognised across the country for solving multiple cold cases. His talent was something logical, a proper job, and hers was cards and fake magic tricks. Although Himiko was an ultimate, she couldn’t help but feel like her talent was inadequate compared to those around her. Tenko did Aikido, Kirumi was a maid who served under the _president_ , and even Gonta was highly skilled in his area of study.

Shuichi also liked Kaede, as far as Himiko knew. He followed that girl everywhere, always shooting her small smiles and reassuring glances. Himiko wouldn't like to say she was jealous, but her thoughts made her seem so.

Himiko also quickly decided she didn't want the surgery. She didn't want to forget Shuichi, even if it cost her life. She had made too many good memories with him than she'd like to admit, and the surgery would erase both that and possibly her ability to love anyone later in life.

If Shuichi wasn't going to return her feelings, and if Himiko definitely wasn't going to take the surgery, then only one option remained.

She sighed, hopelessly. She tossed the petals into the toilet, flushing them down and wiping the blood from her mouth with her hand.

She stood up determinedly, putting up a simple façade so she could make as many great memories as she could without bothering her friends with her illness. Himiko didn’t want to go to a doctor either, as Hopes Peak had a copy of her medical records and it would surely cause her an inconvenience at school.

She washed her hands, eyes following as the traces of blood was swept away by the running water. Just like that, she could do easily hide it. The blood was swept away by the rushing water, down the sink and never to be seen again. It was almost like it wasn't there until she felt a tickling in her throat and the sudden urge to cough.

Suppressing the petals wasn't going to be easy, so she might as well start practicing now. This wasn’t the gravest of it either, it was going to get progressively worse and worse until she—

Himiko didn’t want to think about that.

Holding back as best she could, she made her way back to class, faking a spring in her step and a smile on her face as she went.

________

Himiko's return to class went practically unnoticed, as she slipped in whilst Kokichi and Miu were in the middle of a heated argument. About what, she didn’t want to know.

She had gotten to her seat easily before she had the sudden urge to look behind her.

There he was, two seats back, smiling and laughing whilst talking with Kaede. His eyes seemed to shine brightly as he let out an amused chuckle, his hand in front of his mouth. Himiko was looking at Shuichi side on, and yet he still looked as pretty as when she first saw him.

Himiko turned back around, a small smile gracing her lips just from the sight of him when she suddenly felt herself cough before she could suppress it. A petal made its way into her hand as she covered her mouth, and she discreetly clenched the petal in her fist, before shoving it in her pocket.

Tenko noticed her cough and raised an eyebrow, but Himiko just assured her it was nothing and turned back to her work.

Note to self, avoid Shuichi Saihara at _all_ costs.

_______

Himiko's plan was simple enough, but not so easily carried out. Now that she was looking for Shuichi, he seemed to be everywhere she went, even more so than before.

Himiko went to the library during her lunch break so she could identify the flowers that were coming out of her lungs, and potentially find the meanings of them. One petal was thin and blue, and the other was small and delicate, and usually was coughed out multiple at a time.

 _From a flower book she picked up from a non-fiction shelf, she identified_ the first petal. It was a blue aster, a daisy-like flower which had differing meanings, but the basics of it meant ‘afterthought’ or ‘wish that things had happened differently’. She laughed a little at the irony, oh how she wished things had happened differently.

The other flower, a white chrysanthemum, that mean ‘truth’ and ‘devoted love’ Her studying was interrupted, however, by a certain detective passing by. Another petal was coughed out and shoved into her pocket.

Throughout the day, petals seemed to appear whenever Shuichi was around.

During math class, when he was giving an equation explanation. During lunch, when he sat across from her and she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him. In her group history project, where he was deep in thought and Himiko thought he looked _extremely_ cute.

By the 5th period, her blazer pocket was almost full to the brim with blue and white petals, traces of pink blood lining the edges. What a pain, she thought, she would have to throw the now stained blazer out when she got home.

It was 6th period when she couldn't take it anymore. Shuichi sat directly next to her, and Himiko has clumsily dropped her textbook onto the floor next to her.

She dragged herself onto her feet and reached for the textbook when another hand landed on hers. Shuichi picked up the textbook and held it out for her, flashing Himiko a soft smile.

The almost familiar tickling at her throat was there again and she felt soft petals rising upwards. A lot of them.

"I-I—” she stuttered out, hastily jumping up and running to the nearest bathroom, ignoring the stares of her confused classmates.

She turned back briefly and took one look at Shuichi's confused and slightly saddened face, before continuing running down the hall.

_____

The petals kept coming, almost like there were never stopping. They filled up her throat, making it sting painfully. Her lungs were aching, and she clutched her torso, occasionally gripping the edges of the toilet for support.

Her small body trembled with every cough, petals and blood falling through her lips. After 10 minutes or so almost all the asters and chrysanthemums has left her body and she sighed.

Opening the stall door, she looked up, eyes widening.

Before her stood Miu Iruma, her hands on her hips but her face sympathetic as she stared down Himiko.

“What the fuck took you so long, teach asked me to come check on you cause you were taking fucking forever,” Miu exclaimed.

“I was just on the toilet Miu, no need to get so worked up.”

“Are those fucking flower petals, dipshit?”

Himiko had forgotten that not all the petals had flushed down at once, and Miu, who had quite a bit of height over her, was able to see into the toilet behind her. Himiko also hadn’t been able to make it to the sink to wash the dried blood and saliva off her hands.

“Maybe?”

“Tell me what the fuck is going on right now. God, please don’t tell me its fucking Hanahaki.”

“What _else_ would it be Miu?,” Himiko snorted. No other disease causes you to cough flower petals as far as she was concerned. “I think I have it, anyway.”

Her hypocrisy was laughable.

“You _think?_ ”

“I haven’t gotten a diagnosis or anything...”

With that, Miu grabbed Himiko by the wrist, dragging her out of the toilet stall. Miu leant down to Himiko’s height and got right in her face.

“You mean to tell me you were going to just hide this shit?”

“I-”

“You were just going to _suffer_ in _silence_ without telling anyone? Not even your friends, your doctor or even Tenko?”  
  


“Nyeh, It wasn’t going to be forever. Eventually, I would-”

“Bullshit. That’s fucking bullshit, and you know it.”

Himiko stared down at her feet, on the verge of tears. She bit her lip feebly, before looking back up at Miu. 

“Please don’t tell anyone! I don’t want them to worry, I just want to live my last few months as normally as possible.”  
  


“So that means you’re _not_ going to get the surgery?”

Himiko didn’t say anything back, but her absence of words was answer enough for Miu’s question.

Miu paused, hand on her chin, she seemed conflicted. On one hand, she understood Himiko. If everyone knew she had Hanahaki, she would be constantly worried over. Her life would be anything but normal, and her final months would be frantic.

On the other hand, Miu knew how much it was going to hurt her classmates, especially Tenko when they would eventually find out. That outcome could almost be as disastrous as the first.

“Ok, I won’t tell. But you _must_ go to a fucking doctor, ok?”

Miu placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, looking Himiko directly in the eyes.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

_______

Himiko stumbled out of doctor’s office, her eyes rimmed red.

1 month.

That was how long she had left. The plant inside had taken a hold of her lungs so brutally, and so quickly, that what remaining time she had left had shortened significantly within the past few days.

It was November, and a harsh winter was steadily approaching. She wouldn’t even get to see it until spring, her favourite season. She wouldn’t get to see the pink cherry blossoms, the clear skies and the blooming of new flowers. The beautiful flowers she longed to see sprout, were the same flowers that were clogging her airways and causing her to cough violently every few minutes.

She sent a quick text message to Miu, who had forcibly retrieved her number and asked for updates after convincing Himiko to see a doctor.

_Just got out of the doctor's office. They said I have a month or so left. I’ll tell you more about it at school tomorrow._

Himiko shut her phone off after that, not wanting to deal with it blowing up with hundreds of capitalised messages from Miu that usually consisted of a string of curse words.

________

Himiko came home to her empty apartment, the lights off and the curtains open. She took off her shoes at the door, hanging a blazer on a hook and placing down her bag. She began emptying the pockets full of petals, some of them falling to the floor gently. Himiko placed them in the trash can in her kitchen, before traipsing upstairs to her room.

Taking some blank pieces of paper and an inking pen, Himiko began to write. Her hand moved across the page slowly, making careful and precise movements making sure her handwriting was as neat as possible. She looped her letters, letting a few stray tears fall onto the page. She signed the letter carefully, adding a small heart at the end.

 _Love, Himiko_ _♡_

She folded the note delicately, placing it inside a pale enveloped and closing it with care. Himiko added the final touch, a red heart sticker on the back before writing a name of the front.

_To Shuichi Saihara_

Her confession letter was complete.

It wasn’t that Himiko wasn’t ready to die from her love – of course she was. Her love for Shuichi was so strong, she would do anything to keep him happy, even if that meant dying a slow and painful death.

But Himiko knew she couldn’t be happy resting if she didn’t at least try and confess. If she got rejected – sure it’d be embarrassing and her last month with Shuichi could possibly be ruined and her final moments would feel even worse and—

Himiko shook her head, slapping her face with two hands to get rid of her negative thoughts.

Sure, it’d be embarrassing if she got rejected, but she wouldn’t be around long enough for it to pester her anyway. At least this way she would know for sure and, on the other hand, if there was any percent chance that Shuichi _might_ like her back, she would take it.

It was her last hope, after all.

Himiko placed the letter inside her back. A giddy, almost happy, feeling washed over her and she flushed red. It was almost silly how happy Shuichi made her. So happy that she almost forgot.

A violent cough washed over her and she rushed to the toilet. More and more petals fell out of her mouth and it took a good few minutes until they were gone. The blood was less scarce than before, covering almost every petal in the toilet.

Himiko’s mood changed quickly. How could she forget? She had _Hanahaki_. She was going to _die_. The giddy feeling quickly disappeared and she sighed, washing her blood-covered hands and face.

That night, Himiko stayed awake, staring at the ceiling and wondering what the _fuck_ she did to deserve this fate.

“I don’t know anymore.” She whispered into the quiet night air. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I really don’t know.”  
  


That night, Himiko fell into a restless sleep, dried tears left on her pale face.

______

Himiko awoke to bleary vision, and she rubbed her eyes weakly. She could feel something soft and silky tickling her skin, mostly around her neck and collarbone. She looked down, confused, and was met with the sight of petals upon petals that had found their way into her bed during the night.

She sighed.

Trudging out of bed, ready for another long day of coughing, coughing and – what a surprise – even more coughing. These petals would be the death of her. Himiko pulled her skirt over her legs, tucked in her shirt and threw her jacket on, making sure to line the pockets with plastic bags to prevent the blood from staining the inside. Her hand swiped up the confession letter and placed it gingerly in her bag before she headed out the door.

Walking into the classroom after what had happened yesterday was easily explained in one word.

Awkward.

Everyone’s eyes were on her. Himiko kept her head down and stared at her shoes, blindly walking to her seat before placing herself down. She began to unpack her school supplies before her vision was filled with a close up of Tenko’s face.

Himiko jerked back in surprise, and hesitantly looked up. Tenko’s eyes bore in her face, staring at her expectantly as if waiting for an answer or explanation. Himiko tilted her head, waiting for Tenko to say something first. Their intense staring match, although you probably couldn’t call it that since Himiko wasn’t making eye contact, came to a swift end when Tenko suddenly blurted out a “Hey, Himiko!”.

“Nyeh, what do you want Tenko?”

“What do _I_ want? What _was_ that yesterday? You were suddenly all like ‘I need to go’ and ran out of the classroom. Did you think I wouldn’t be _worried_?”

Himiko’s felt a pang in her chest. If this was how Tenko was reacting to something as small as this, Himiko couldn’t help but wonder how much her death would tear Tenko apart.

“It wasn’t anything serious Tenko, I just needed the bathroom. That’s all.”

Tenko opened her mouth as if to say something but quickly stopped when the teacher walked into the classroom. She took her seat at the back of the class. Himiko wanted to believe that was the end of that, but she couldn’t help but feel Tenko’s watchful gaze boring into the back of her head for the remainder of the lesson.

_____  
  


Himiko walked to lunch with a slight spring in her step. Unlike yesterday, this time she was filled with a slight sense of happiness, fuelled by the small piece of hope her heart so desperately clung onto.

Shuichi’s happiness was almost infectious, causing Himiko to create her own hope that ended up in the form of a love letter. This love letter, she decided, would be the deciding factor of her fate, the choice between life and death, and the single object responsible for ending, or saving, her life.

Who knew something so small could play such a large role in a person’s lifespan, Himiko thought quietly to herself. She had never thought the date of her death would be put in the hands of something such as a letter, and yet here she was.

Her shoes squeaked along the tiled floor as she turned on her heels, making her way to her locker to retrieve something before she went and ate. Her shoes halted to a stop, however, as she witnessed something she had never imagined she’d see.

Through the open doors at the end of a hallway, she had a perfect view of what was going on. A soft breeze ruffling the leaves of a golden oak tree, tufts of grass being swept away by the wind, the cloudless skies that divided the ground and other endless possibilities and finally there was—

Kaede kissing Shuichi.

Himiko’s heart ached at the sight of it, her hand instinctively raising itself up to her mouth. It was too much for her to bear any longer. The love letter was quickly forgotten, dropping slowly to the ground about a metre away, soon stomped on by an oblivious passer-by.

Himiko didn’t care though. Not anymore. She had only looked for a mere second before taking off down the hallway, running as fast as she could. Her classroom was the closest private area to where she was standing and, assuming it would be empty during lunch break, Himiko ran inside frantically.

She removed her hand almost immediately, an abundance of blood-covered asters falling to the ground in front of her. She clawed at her neck, the flowers larger this time and almost at full bloom. What she failed to notice, was the group of girls sat in the classroom that were now staring at her, dumbfounded.

“HIMIKO!” a frantic Tenko yelled, rushing to her side almost immediately and kneeling in front of her. Her eyes were widening as she watched more and more petals make their way out of Himiko’s mouth.

Maki was frozen in place, Tsumugi was sweating but swiftly making her way over, and Miu had both a look of shock and annoyance on her usually angry face. Kirumi had already run out of the room to find Mikan, the ultimate nurse.

“Hi-Himiko? Oh my goodness are you alright?”  
“HIMIKO! WHAT’S HAPPENING TO YOU?”  
“What the _fuck_ , Himiko.”

Himiko paid no attention to their remarks, however, as the only thing she could concentrate on was the constant rawness of her throat, the almost fully-bloomed flowers that were scratching against it and her lungs that were tightening more and more by the second.

Her breaths came out in harsh pants as she gasped for air, her vision blurring a little. She could only really make out the pile of blue asters and white chrysanthemum petals in front of her spotted with pink blood.

Himiko could almost feel the plant and vines tightening, the more air she lost. It was as if her illness was punishing her for not confessing sooner, or witnessing the sight, that wasn’t even her fault, that caused her to end up like this.

Eventually, her lungs seemed to relax even if only temporarily. She downed a bottle of water handed to her by Tenko and the persistent scratchiness of her throat was relieved. Now she just had to face her classmates.

Mostly everyone from her class was there now since Kirumi had needed as much help as possible. Despite her condition, Himiko still found herself scanning the room desperately, looking for a specific person whom she couldn’t seem to find.

“Uh—I’m sorry? I guess.” Himiko wheezed out, still staring at the ground dimly. Now she had royally fucked up _everything_. Her apology was half-assed, but she didn’t care at this point. She couldn’t even go a week without accidentally giving away her secret. Miu was sending her disapproving looks, that almost translated to ‘I told you so’. Himiko knew Miu was right, but her conscience refused to admit it.

“Himiko has... Hanahaki?”  
“She’s the last person I expected to have it...”  
“HIMIKO!”  
  


Hushed conversation spread through the room like wildfire, all eyes on her. Himiko turned and raised her head to look at Tenko, blinking wearily.

“Himiko…” Tenko’s expression fell into one of disappointment and despair as she processed the sight before her. Seeing Tenko this disappointed was taking its toll on Himiko. She felt like a needle was sewing threads of self-hatred and guilt through her heart, whilst tightening the plant’s grasp on her lungs and suffocating her slowly. Not only would she die with the overwhelming feeling of her unrequited love, but also buried under the immense amount of grief she had caused her friends and those around her.

“I-I’m so s-sorry Tenko... I didn’t mean to hurt you I just—”

Her speech was cut short by a pair of arms being thrown around her, pulling her into a tight hug. Tenko’s hands gripped desperately to Himiko’s clothes, as Tenko pulled her closer and buried Himiko’s face into her shoulder.

It was then when Himiko realised what her death would truly cause for her friends. She sat uncomfortably but still received Tenko’s hug as best she could, quietly crying into the others shoulder.

When Tenko finally pulled away, Himiko heard the door open forcefully, slamming into the wall beside it from the sheer force. _He_ walked through the door.

Himiko couldn’t take it anymore. Not only was she, a lone person who avoided negative attention at all costs, on the floor with everyone staring at her, the person who indirectly caused this had just arrived. Himiko didn’t blame Shuichi, not in the slightest. It was _her_ fault she fell in love with him, and it was _her_ who developed Hanahaki.

Although Shuichi wasn’t to blame, it didn’t change the fact that even looking at him caused Himiko to start coughing, and so she had to leave. Rising slowly, she swayed unstably on her feet before breaking into a run. She was out the door before anyone could stop her. Himiko could hear frenzied yelling and shouts coming from the direction of the classroom door but she blocked them out with her guilty thoughts. Not bothering to look back, Himiko left a trail of blue and white petals as she ran, heading in the direction of the school roof.

The roof was Himiko’s comfort. From there she could see everything around Hopes Peak. The bustling life of Tokyo around them, the unexplained yet wonderful harmony of human nature. Himiko could feel the autumn wind against her skin, goosebumps rising on her arms and her red hair swaying delicately.

The views from the roof were like her daily reminder of how small and insignificant she was, how little her life mattered to the world. She was just one person out of billions. She had her own problems, thoughts, relationships and suffering, yet she was such a small part of society that it didn’t seem to matter in the long run. Her death would become one of millions, a simple statistic in a table of data. She would go from a person to a number, something so trivial and unimportant. Slowly she would become forgotten, blending into the death toll like she was nothing.

Himiko couldn’t escape her vulgar thoughts as she brought her hands onto her head and crouched down, letting stray tears fall onto the concrete in front of her. More and more petals seemed to escape, each flower littered with pink.

The flowers were at full bloom now, and Himiko couldn’t do much more about it. She staggered closer to the edge, placing her hands forcefully onto the railing that bordered her from falling. Her last hope wasn’t much, but it was all she could do now.

Himiko took a deep breath, or as deep of a breath you can take whilst almost choking constantly, and yelled out into the sky.

“I CAN’T LET THIS...THIS DISEASE TAKE ME.” She yelled to no one in particular. “I CAN’T LEAVE MY FRIENDS BEHIND I-I—” Her voice cracked slightly.

“I-I can’t let this.. get the better of me.” Tears rolled silently down her sunken face. She wiped them away before she began to shout again. “BECAUSE I AM HIMIKO YUMENO, THE ULTIMATE MAGE.”

Words couldn’t cure a disease, and she knew that. Mere words were no match for the plants inside her, and yet despite that, she couldn’t help but smile. The words had awakened something inside her. A seed of hope had been planted inside her heart and it was growing by the second. Any fear or doubt she had melted away almost instantly and Himiko breathed in, taking in the views again.

Footsteps were steadily approaching behind her, and she felt someone grab her hand. Her body turned to face who it was and...

_Oh._

There he was, Shuichi Saihara. His hat was off for one, which happened on the rarest of rare occasions. His eyes were glossy, and he stared at Himiko with a pained expression. Without speaking, Shuichi wrapped his arms around Himiko and pulled her into his chest, resting his face in her hair. Himiko was surprised, but flushed red nonetheless, despite the severity of the situation.

“Shuichi? What are you—”  
  


He just hugged her tighter, and Himiko seemed to get the memo. She didn’t understand it, but she quickly relaxed into the hug anyway.

Shuichi soon pulled away and put his hands on her shoulders, looking her directly in the eye.

“Tell me. Who is it?”

“I can’t tell you it’s private—”  
  


“This is a matter between life and _death,_ Himiko. If you don’t tell me, I’ll just go and find them myself.”

Himiko sighed. “Why does it matter to _you_? I made this decision myself, I don’t need your input, thank you very mu—”  
  


“You’re going to die otherwise; don’t you get that!?” His voice was slowly getting louder, as he desperately tried to get his point across to Himiko. She stayed as stubborn as ever, however.

“So?”

“ _So?_ What do you mean _so_? Don’t you understand what death means, Himiko? We couldn’t.. I-I couldn’t bear to lose you. Don’t you get that!?”

Himiko stumbled a little, trying to process his words. He... He would miss her? Himiko didn’t get it at all. Shuichi rarely talked to her, approached her but now he suddenly cares about her. Only in death, she thought bitterly.

“Nyeh, I-I don’t understand.” And she truly meant it. Why would someone like Shuichi suddenly care so much about _her_?

Himiko scoffed silently. She almost sounded like that hope fucker from class 77-B, who always seemed to refer to himself as ‘scum’ and constantly voiced his opinions on never being good enough.

“Why would _you_ —“

She was only halfway through the sentence when she suddenly felt the sensation of warm breath on her skin. Himiko has failed to realise that Shuichi has slowly gotten closer to her face, his breath almost reaching her cheek.

He was even more beautiful up close, she thought. She could see his eyelashes flutter against his skin when he blinked, and his fringe that fell over his eyes was fluttering slightly from the wind. His eyes seemed more bright than ever before, like something – _or someone_ \- had lit a fire inside them.

Shuichi glanced at her lips, before leaning forward and kissing Himiko square on the mouth.

Her eyes widened in shock, but Shuichi had pulled away by the time she could even begin to process what had happened.

“ _That’s_ why.”

“B-but you and Kaede… I saw you—”

“ _She_ kissed _me,_ I pulled away as fast as I could.”

Shuichi... liked her? And not Kaede? Himiko couldn’t believe what she was hearing, feeling, seeing. Her fingers ghosted over her lips, her heart was beating erratically in her chest and her palms were sweating profusely.

Pure bliss was cut short by a flurry of petals rising from her mouth. Himiko clutched her chest and keeled over, her knees grazing on the harsh concrete below her. Shuichi immediately crouched down beside her, clutching her shoulders and pulling her hair out of her face.

“I’m going to need you to tell me who it is **now** , Himiko.” His voice was taking one a fierce tone that she had never heard him use before.

Despite being a detective, Himiko really couldn’t understand how _oblivious_ Shuichi could be at times. Ultimate detective, and yet he still couldn’t put two and two together; the petals always appeared when he was around her. She giggled a little, although it came out as more of a half-cough than anything.

“Are you seriously _that_ stupid?”

“U-Uh..”

“Nyeh, guess I'll just have to show you instead.” She trailed off, before hooking her arms over Shuichi’s shoulders and crossing them behind his neck. She stood up on her tiptoes, leaning upwards, and kissed him again.

Their second kiss was different than the first. It was slower, and Shuichi seemed to get the idea after a couple of seconds. He began to kiss back fervently, moving his lips against hers.

They pulled away after 30 or so seconds, Himiko gasping for air.

“I-It’s you...” She wheezed out breathlessly.

“It’s _me_?”

She laughed a little, before sitting down on the rooftop and briefly grabbing his hand to drag him down with her.

They sat there and talked for what seemed like hours, although it was probably only 20 minutes when Shuichi realised that Himiko had fallen quiet.

Her head was resting against his side lazily, her chest rising and falling peacefully. Her hat had fallen into her lap and her hair was dishevelled from the breeze. It suited her, he thought quietly to himself. She was cute and he wasn’t afraid to admit that.

Shuichi carefully propped the sleeping Himiko up against the railing and moved out from under her. He grabbed her hat from her lap and before placing it on her head, he left a soft kiss on her forehead.

He then picked up Himiko as tenderly as he could without waking her, and place her on his back, looping her arms around his neck. She stirred a little and he breathed in sharply, but she soon let out a content sigh and Shuichi couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Once he had carried her down to the infirmary and has her checked up in by Mikan, Shuichi sat by her bedside and held her hand tightly, waiting patiently for her to wake up.

______

When Himiko woke up, both her memory and vision were hazy. She couldn’t feel much, except for the soft gentle feeling of Shuichi’s touch.

He was there next to her bed, waiting for her. Himiko was sure that it had been a dream, it had felt too good to be true. And yet here he was. He was right there, holding her hand and muttering to himself worriedly. She squeezed his hand and he started, his gaze shifting down to her.

Himiko sat up slowly, and Shuichi helped by propping up pillows for her to lean on and making sure she could sit properly.

He smiled at her. A genuine smile reserved just for her. And Himiko couldn’t help but feel a warmth spread through her. Her love for Shuichi, which she had thought was unrequited, has caused her so much pain and hurt, yet it had also brought her more joy in the past few hours than she could have ever mentioned possible. Love was both a blessing and a curse, and in Himiko’s case, love was something that had caused her to be closer to Shuichi than she ever thought possible.

Although she wouldn’t call Hanahaki ‘good’, she couldn’t help but think that if it weren’t for the disease, she may have never even confessed to Shuichi in the first place.

She smiled back at him, cracks of sunlight leaking in through the curtains and lighting up her face as she beamed. Himiko cupped his cheek gently, and pulled him closer again, kissing him over and over until she was gasping for air.

As Himiko sat there, taking in every wonderful detail of Shuichi’s face she wondered how she had gotten here. A week ago, she couldn’t even consider herself a friend of his, and now she got to kiss him and hold him close? It was dreamy.

Himiko Yumeno beloved in love.

And it was truly magical.


End file.
